“We are holding a lycan council meeting at King Conan’s castle. Apparently, Lunara, Chandra and her archaeologist pet, James Clayworth uncovered information that might shed light on our case. They’re flying in and should arrive tonight.”
Lunara, the wolf shaman priestess, communed with the departed. Why else call her? “Does Lunara suspect Svetlana is dead?”
“We’ll soon find out. After what Kat said, she could be. Knowing Svetlana, she’d attempt escape.”
Lev scoffed. “A pack of oath breakers? Svetlana would be more than happy and quite useful in whatever schemes they have. The dirtier the better.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more.” Rylee turned off the screen.
Svetlana most likely plotted revenge against him. She must have negotiated a deal with them. Bring him in so she could torture him to death. “When do we leave?”
“Now.”
“Understood.”
They boarded Rylee’s helicopter for the king’s castle and arrived in the late afternoon. Lev settled into his guest quarters. Rachel was probably at home with Cricket. He smiled. Perhaps doing yoga. He should call to find out the results of her medical tests. He had his mobile on mute and noticed a text from Howard.
He stiffened as he read the message over and over.
Rage, regret and remorse flushed through his core. His phone glowed with heat and he dropped it, before his touch melted it. The words, “You almost killed her” and “Stay away from Rachel” tore at his heart.
Rachel blinked. Where am I? Her memory of what happened floated on wisps of clouds. She’d had the MRI. As her awareness returned, she heard the thumping of the rapid pulses from the scan in her head. Odd. She focused. The lights stung her eyes, and the sound of the monitors jarred her nerves. Rachel moved her arm and her skin pinched from an IV hooked to her vein. Her blood pressure monitor showed normal. She must have passed out. Did she have another explosive headache? A blood clot? At least, she wasn’t on oxygen. In fact, she felt refreshed, like she did after Lev bit her.
Her memory continued to filter in. After the MRI, she recalled Howard’s angry voice outside the scanning room. He argued with Darius. Something about her tests and how Lev had damaged her. She rushed outside and insisted on seeing her results. The last thing she remembered was being handed the tablet and then blackness. The same void she’d visited while feverish and fighting Ebola. Rachel glanced at the digital clock. Nighttime already. Almost 9 p.m. The MRI had scanned her after lunch. She pressed the button for the nurse. That is, if werewolf protocol ran like a normal human hospital.
The door opened. No nurse. Just Howard and Darius. Her father dashed to her side. “How are you feeling?”
&
nbsp; “Good. I think. What happened?”
“You passed out.”
“Is it a tumor?”
Darius spoke, “No. You do have unusual brain activity.” He eyed Howard. “Your tissue and blood tests were unusual.”
Rachel sat up. “How unusual?”
“Your physiology has changed. Your muscle cells have more mitochondria and more red blood cells. The sudden overload caused your blood pressure to drop. I’m sure the effect will wear off over the next few days.”
“As if I’m an Olympic athlete. One doped on endurance enhancing drugs.”
Howard’s tone turned grave. “Whatever it was, it nearly killed you.”
She gave her father a guarded look. “You blame Lev?”
Howard sighed. “Yes. His bite poisoned you.”
“How can that be? His bite brought me back from death after my heart stopped when I almost died of hypothermia. Then when he bit me later, my cuts healed.”
Darius shook his head. “More likely enhanced rather than poisoned, but your human system couldn’t handle it.”
“Rachel, how many times has Lev bitten you?” Howard’s face creased with worry.
She flushed. It felt like he asked her how many times they had sex. Too damn personal. “I don’t know. Three times.” Should she count the playful hickeys? She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m his mate.”
“Not anymore,” blurted Howard.